This disclosure concerns reclosable packages. In particular, this disclosure describes reclosable packages manufactured from form, fill, and seal machines, the packages having slider devices for opening and closing the packages, and methods of manufacturing the packages.
Form, fill, and seal technology is known in the packaging industry as a method to package consumable goods. Consumable goods that are not used completely when the package is initially opened rely on a zipper closure to reclose the package and keep the remaining contents fresh. Examples of consumable goods that are often packaged in packages with a zipper closure include potting soil, fertilizer, pet food, dog biscuits, and many different foods edible by humans.
Often, the opening and closing of the zipper closure is facilitated by a slider device that is mounted on the zipper closure. The slider device is constructed to pry apart the interlocking zipper closure members when the slider device is moved in a first direction along the zipper, and to engage the interlocking zipper closure members when the slider device is moved in a second, opposite direction along the zipper. For some applications, a tamper-evident seal, to notify whether access has been gained to the zipper closure, is desired. Improvements in these types of packages are desirable.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flexible, reclosable package;
FIG. 2 is a schematic, cross-sectional view of a flexible, reclosable package similar to that depicted in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a schematic, cross-sectional view of a flexible, reclosable package having a tamper-evident seal;
FIG. 4 is a schematic, cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a flexible, reclosable package having a tamper-evident seal;
FIG. 5 is a schematic, cross-sectional view of a flexible, reclosable package having a tamper-evident seal and a peel seal;
FIG. 6 is a schematic, perspective view of a horizontal form, fill, and seal machine for manufacturing and filling packages having a zipper closure and slider device attachment;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic plan view of a portion of the process depicted in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged schematic side view of a portion of the process depicted in FIGS. 6 and 7, viewed from the opposite side of FIGS. 6 and 7;
FIG. 9 is an enlarged schematic, cross-sectional view of a process for providing a perforated tamper-evident seal, such as for the packages of FIG. 3;
FIG. 10 is an enlarged schematic, cross-sectional view of a process for providing a perforated external tamper-evident seal and an internal tamper-evident seal;
FIG. 11 is an enlarged schematic, cross-sectional view of a process for providing a perforated tamper-evident seal, such as for the package of FIG. 4; and
FIG. 12 is an enlarged schematic, cross-sectional view of a process for removing edges of film;
FIG. 13 is an enlarged schematic, cross-section view of a portion of another process for providing an external tamper-evident seal and an internal tamper-evident seal;
FIG. 14 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the process of FIG. 13;
FIG. 15A is a front view of an apparatus for use with the process of FIG. 13; FIG. 15B is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 15A; FIG. 15C is a rear view of the apparatus of FIG. 15A; FIG. 15D is a side view of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. A, the portion being removed from the apparatus; and
FIG. 16 is a schematic perspective view of another portion of the process of FIG. 13.